On rainy days, there are a few tracks I love to revisit, and ‘Alison’ by Paris Match is one of them.
When I landed in San Francisco for a short stay, it was autumn, but the rain was pouring. In the taxi towards the city, the driver, a local, mentioned it was his first time seeing rain at that time of year. He added that though the rainy season here is winter, it hadn’t rained in winter for the last decade. Yet, that particular winter was quite rainy, and I found myself listening to the snare intro of ‘Alison’ countless times. Thanks to this, San Francisco, alongside London (where it rained all week during my stay), remains one of the cities where rainy scenes vividly linger in my memory. Life is always full of surprises.
Usually, I spent my Saturday mornings doing various chores, and rain made things tricky. Not being able to do laundry was the biggest letdown. Without doing laundry, I couldn’t bury myself in the scent of freshly dried clothes at the coin laundry’s dryer, nor could I enjoy my favorite salmon bagel sandwich from Noah’s Bagels a few blocks away while the washer spun. In those moments, I simply cracked open the window of my tiny studio, gazed out at the gloomy scene, and listened to ‘Alison’.
‘Alison’ is a sophisticated jazz piece with a mellow tempo, featuring Mizuno Mari’s vocals elegantly flowing over a simple piano and bass. Listening to this track feels like Mizuno Mari is serenading me from behind, and I’ve heard it so often that I feel like I’ve raised her myself.
Speaking of carrying, it suddenly reminds me of the time in college when I had to carry a drunk junior home. It was drizzling that night, and he felt as heavy as if I were lugging a seal on my back. I’ve never actually carried a seal, but I can imagine the feeling. He was heavy enough just standing still, but his constant fidgeting made it tougher. I almost wished I could knock him out briefly to make it easier to carry him. Every time he groaned, ‘Hey, give me a sec…’, I’d quickly let him down on the street, only to suffer the agony of lifting him back up again. If only he had sung to me like Mizuno Mari into my ear—though honestly, even if it were her, I doubt I would have enjoyed it much…
On another note, on days when the sky pours down in torrents, ‘Rain’ by Ryuichi Sakamoto is quite a delight.
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